Phillip Schofield has defended his co-host during a conversation on This Morning about Prince Harry's latest interview on a US TV program. The Duke of Sussex sat down with Hoda Kotb on NBC's Today Show where he spoke about his recent visit to the Queen.
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, made a private visit to see the Queen where they also met with the Prince of Wales at Windsor on April 14. They flew in from their home in the US before travelling to The Hague in the Netherlands where the Invictus Games are being held.
Speaking about his meeting with the Queen, the prince, who has recently stepped away from his royal duties, said: "Being with her it was great, it was just so nice to see her, she’s on great form. She’s always got a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure that she’s protected and got the right people around her. Both Meghan and I had tea with her, so it was really nice to catch up with her."
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The discussion came ahead of the celebrations for the Queen's 96th birthday on Thursday, April 21. It's also just over a year since the death of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his interview has once again caused debate.
The interview was being discussed by Philip and Co-host Holly Willoughby on Wednesday's episode of This Morning when they were joined by guests Tom Swarbrick and Camilla Tominey.
Holly, 41, said: "So he says there that 'I hope she's protected and got the right people around her', suggesting that the people she has around her at the moment aren't protecting her? What does that mean?"
Camilla, who reports on the royal family as an associate editor of The Daily Telegraph, agreed that it is a "weird one". She said: "Who is he meaning? Does he mean her closest aide who is Angela Kelly, who we know the couple had a row with in the run-up to the royal wedding because there was a disagreement over whether a tiara could be produced at the right moment for Meghan's hairdresser?
"Does he mean Prince Charles and Prince William and the rest of his family and that he's suggesting she hasn't got the right people around her?" Phillip, 60, responded: "The thing is - I don't know this lady who did the interview, but she didn't ask the question that we're all asking. She immediately laughed it off and went into the next thing about 'you make her laugh'. What she didn't ask was, 'What do you mean by this?'"
He added: "If you analyse it, for the first time, has that ever happened before that someone has potentially criticised the people around the Queen?" to which Camilla responded that he had done that in an earlier Oprah interview by "blaming staff for blocking his path to see the Queen".
She then explained who interviewer Hoda Kotb was, saying: "She's from the Today show in America, I used to do quite a lot of work for NBC. She's like the equivalent of Holly and with her partner in crime" to which Phil interjected: "Holly would have asked the follow-up question."
Holly joked: "I hope," before they carried on attempting to dissect Harry's interview a little further. Tom then commented: "I just think, once again, unfortunately for him perhaps, in can come across as a little bit patronising that he is seeking to protect her, apparently from the very institution he left to protect himself."
Harry moved to Montecito in California with Meghan following their decision to step back as senior royals. He spoke about the US now being home saying: "Home for me now, for the time being, is in the States and it feels that way. We’ve been welcomed with open arms and have such a great community up in Santa Barbara."
He flew back from California to attend his grandfather's funeral in April 2021 without Meghan who was heavily pregnant at the time. He has also returned to the UK to unveil the statue of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales on July 2021 with his brother, the Duke of Cambridge. He was absent from the memorial service held earlier this month for the Duke of Edinburgh.
